It's a slang term, meaning to be having bad luck, or at a low point

I remember W.S.Maugham's story "A Friend in Need". There is an episode describing young Burton: "He hadn't a penny. He'd pawned everything he had. He couldn't pay his hotel bill and they wouldn't give him any more credit. He was down and out. If he couldn't get something to do he'd have to commit suicide." down and out (adjective) - very poor, with nowhere to live and no job down and out (noun) - someone who has nowhere to live and no job or money

it means 1. Lacking funds, resources, or prospects; destitute. 2. Incapacitated; prostrate. cowboy...

To be out on the street! http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Down_and_out_on_New_York_pier.gif

Physically weakened or incapacitated. Destitute. Penniless. Incapacitated. Without any means of livelihood; impoverished and, often, socially outcast. A person who is destitute and, often, homeless. For example: "He tried to help the down-and-out".